


The Librarian and the Dragon

by DJL



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-01
Updated: 2016-01-01
Packaged: 2018-05-10 20:26:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5599675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DJL/pseuds/DJL
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On New Year's Eve, Belle considers making a resolution involving a certain town monster.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Librarian and the Dragon

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: This is a non-commercial work of fanfiction. The characters of Belle French and Mr. Gold are the sole invention and property of show creators Adam Horowitz and Edwin Kitsis. Just playing in the sandbox.
> 
> Also, Naomi Novik's Uprooted really is amazing. Go read it now.

Belle sighed in relief after uploading the final part of her annual reading roundup to Storybrooke Library’s website. It wasn’t that the task was unpleasant—there were few things she liked better than reviewing her Best Pick lists for the last 12 months and culling from same her Top 10 Book Picks of the Year. But what she most wanted right now was to sip some wine and spend the rest of what remained of the year away from a computer screen.

Belle closed her laptop and slid it away from her on the bed, eyeing the clock on her bedside table as she did so. Two and a half hours to go until the ball dropped in Times Square. She considered her options. Ariel had invited her yesterday to come along with the rest of the gang to ring in the New Year at the Rabbit Hole. Belle had declined, still in the recovery stage from her annual holiday cold, though in truth she did feel well enough to go out tonight. It was just that the thought of an evening spent anywhere near the vicinity of her ex-boyfriend, Gaston, was hardly appealing, and he was almost certain to be at the Rabbit Hole tonight. Ariel had assured her the others in the group could provide all the insulation Belle could need from Gaston, hinting in her not-so-subtle way that professor Liam Merlin, Storybrooke’s newest resident, would be more than pleased to contribute to the effort. But somehow, even the knowledge that her best friend was doing her utmost to set her up with an admittedly hot, evidently available and certainly interesting man was apparently not enough to motivate Belle out of her bed tonight.

Her other option was to do something decidedly antisocial, like curl up right where she was and re-read her favorite parts of this year’s pick for Top Book of the Year: Uprooted, by Naomi Novik... 

Belle smiled to herself and reached for the novel, snuggling back into her covers.

Two hours later, Belle emerged from what had essentially been a speed-read through the tome that was in the running as one of her favorite books of all time. She massaged the spine as she lay back in bed, savoring the feel of the ending, not wanting to step out of the universe Novik had created just yet. Thus it was with all of Belle’s favorite reads, but somehow the pull with this one was even stronger than most. It almost reminded Belle of her teen years, when she had so enjoyed that show—what had it been called?—oh yeah, Enchanted. About a bunch of fairy tale characters, but with the tales retold in new, sometimes fractured, ways. Belle had gotten so into it that for a while she had even indulged in writing her own fanfiction, generally Mary Sue-type stories involving a thinly-disguised version of herself encountering a certain powerful, tortured-yet -devastatingly -attractive wizard, one of the main characters on the drama. 

Really, when Belle thought about it, it was no wonder Uprooted had her remembering her fan-fic days. The dynamic between the novel’s main protagonist, the inexperienced but plucky Agnieszka, and the sullen, secretive, sexy wizard known as the Dragon, who constrained her at the beginning of the story to come live with him in his isolated castle, following which much UST eventually occurred, followed by some hot consummation--was nearly identical to what Belle had always written about in her fan stories. Belle closed her eyes, smiling a bit as she indulged her fan bones again and re-imagined herself in the role of Agnieszka. She was young, feeling lost, far from home—a state with which Belle could certainly relate. Little by little she became increasingly intrigued by the only other occupant in her strange new home, a powerful wizard, who would resemble—

Belle’s eyes opened and her smile turned a bit rueful, for the face that had filled her mind as she had head-cast the role of the Dragon had not been the actor she had once spent countless hours mooning over, but that of Storybrooke’s resident monster--Mr. Gold. Not that Belle considered Mr. Gold a monster. In fact, if she was being completely honest with herself, Belle found Mr. Gold incredibly compelling. Short of stature, though still taller than she was (who wasn’t?), crippled, and older than she by at least two decades, Mr. Gold was an unlikely candidate to strike a young woman’s fancy. Add in the fact that he was almost always scowling and that his reputation in town was unsavory--to say the least-- and her attraction to the man was downright baffling.

Or was it? Seen in the light of her former, formative yearnings (which, it seemed, had not changed as much as she would have supposed), perhaps it wasn’t all that surprising that Belle had become so intrigued by Mr. Gold. 

Mysterious—check. Powerful—check. Often sullen and sarcastic—double check. 

Yes, perhaps her attraction to him was not as puzzling as it might seem on first considering the matter. The real question was, was the attraction mutual?

Mr. Gold liked her, Belle would be willing to swear to that. Despite all she had heard from other denizens in town of his coldness and his cruelty, Mr. Gold had never behaved so to her. In fact, from their very first interaction, when Mr. Gold had come to the library to collect rent at the end of her first month in town, Belle had been struck by nothing so much as the drastic change made to his face when he smiled. And he seemed to smile quite often during their encounters. 

When he smiled, his admittedly weathered face became, to Belle’s eyes at least, quite handsome. 

That was as far as things had gone. A few cordial words and some rent money, exchanged monthly--always with a smile, usually with some brief commentary on Belle’s monthly newsletter of book recommendations. It was a display of interest that might be indicative of something more, but on the other hand, Mr. Gold never actually checked out any of her recommendations. He never came to the library at all, in fact, outside of the rent collection appointments, which seemed instead to point to lack of interest in Belle on his part. Otherwise, why would he not take advantage of such an easy way to interact with her?

But try as she may, Belle couldn’t shake the feeling that Mr. Gold was interested, and in more than just the timely collection of the library rent. She had felt his eyes linger on her body more than once during their encounters, and his reading of her newsletters had to count for something. Belle wasn’t sure what was holding him back, but it seemed that a choice was being forced on her—either she could make the first move, and find out for sure if Mr. Gold would even be interested in getting to know her better, or she could try and forget about the man entirely. One thing was certain--sitting in her bedroom, pining over the Mr. Gold her mind had fashioned into her own personal Dragon, was getting her exactly nowhere.

Luckily, it was New Year’s Eve. A time for resolutions, for brave intentions. A time for deciding on action that could end in being either wise or foolhardy, but would definitely be life altering. Belle smiled faintly, feeling hope well within her, and knew what her decision was. 

“Happy New Year, Mr. Gold,” Belle murmured into the air, while in the distance, outside her window, fireworks began to explode.


End file.
